Letters – 25 September 2015
Letters from life and death to Living out our faith in the world
Life and death
My childhood experience was very different from that of Anne Wade (4 September), leading to different conclusions. In rural New Zealand it would have been absolutely unthinkable to let a flock of elderly ewes (sheep) starve slowly to death as their teeth drop out one-by-one from old age.
As a teenager I noted that humans sometimes received less compassion than farm animals, and at age twenty-two I resolved that ‘if necessary’ I would die at a time and place of my choosing.
Now, at age eighty-five, I feel relieved and relaxed that I have the means in place if needed. In the last eighteen months three friends have chosen to die ‘with a little bit of help from one’s friends’ (to misappropriate a line from the Beatles), and I would have wanted to do the same in their place. It is not a rare situation.
Volker Heine
Phlogiston and stuff
Stephen Petter suggests (11 September) that we need to amend how we state our religious ‘purpose’. Do we need a definition? If so, should it be in a form that expresses the theist and nontheist positions, and in terms that are meaningful and significant from both points of view? Because we seek unity in essentials, it is surely worth making an effort to state that purpose clearly and in a way that is consistent with the Balby elders’ principle that ‘the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life’.
Like early Quakers, we seek individually and collectively whatever is to be found in conscious stillness. We know this is not the same as thought or meditation. For some of us it may bring a greater awareness of a unique truth or Spirit, including renewed inspiration from the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. Others value collective stillness to experience an intense humanity and compassion, but without a divine source. For many, perhaps for most of us, worship takes both forms. Psalm 46 has something to say on the subject.
We seek the right way together and individually in loving stillness. Does the fact that Jesus commanded us to love one another and his statement that he was ‘the way’ invalidate that statement of our purpose? Is it too Christocentric, or not religious enough? If so, can words be found with which we can all agree? If it could be done, it would enhance our message to the world as well as our unity in worship.
Tim Eccles
You need to login to read subscriber-only content and/or comment on articles.